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June 26, 2013

Malaysian short-term tourists to Japan need not apply for visas from July 1, the Japanese government said yesterday.

The new visa exemption also applied to travellers from Thailand while those from the Philippines and Vietnam will be issued with multiple-entry visas good for three years, stated abs_cbnnews.com quoting Kyodo News.

The visa exemptions will in principle apply to those who hold chip-embedded passports.

For short-term visitors from Indonesia, the duration of stay on a multiple-entry visa will be extended to 30 days from the current 15 days, effective Monday, according to the Foreign Ministry.

June 11, 2013

Gov't to exempt Thai, Malaysian tourists from visa requirement

The government plans to exempt short-term tourists from Thailand and Malaysia from having to obtain a visa and incorporate the measure into an envisaged action program to help spur the nation's tourism industry, sources familiar with the matter said Monday.

The exemption is in line with the government's goal of more than tripling the overall annual number of Japan-bound travelers to over 30 million by 2030, the sources said. The action program will be adopted on Tuesday by ministers in charge.

Japan-bound travelers from the two countries are currently issued multiple-entry visas enabling holders to enter Japan as often as they want during the validity period.

The government is considering the start of multiple-entry visas for travelers from other Southeast Asian countries as well, they said.

In 2012, a total of 8.37 million foreigners traveled to Japan, with Thailand and Malaysia accounting for 390,000 of them.